Shoes to Fill
by SappyGemstone
Summary: Follow the adventures of Ed and Al's children, Van, Nina, Tricia and Wen, as they try to find their place in a world changed forever by their parents. An old enemy returns, a country moves towards peace, and the new generation tries to live up to the examples that came before them.
1. Chapter 1

Nina and Van

It was sheep shearing season. The naaas and baaas of the flocks echoed over the grassy hills as shepherds led their flocks into the small, shallow river to scrub each sheep with harsh lye soap until its wool gleamed white and clean. Nina's lunch pail knocked against the stone railing of the narrow pedestrian bridge as she leaned over to watch the suds travel with the current and disappear into the shadows beneath the bridge.

"Nina!"

Nina snapped out of her reverie, and glanced over her shoulder. She grinned at her frustrated brother.

"I'm just taking a small break, Van," she said with a shrug.

Van sighed, exasperated, and grabbed her hand.

"Come on," he said, dragging her down the path. "You're supposed to get home early today, remember? Aunt Mai's lessons."

"Aw, Van, you can just leave me behind," Nina begged, dragging her feet. "Alkehestry is the worst thing ever. I don't see why I have to study it. Alchemy is so much easier!"

"You're just jealous because the twins are better than you," Van said, not letting her go.

"I don't see why they're so good. I'm a whole three years older," Nina grumbled. "You could just tell Mom and Dad that you couldn't find me after school! Or, or, that I went and helped with the shearing!"

"No way, I'm not getting in trouble because of you," Van said firmly. "Besides, Mom told me she'd show me how to make an alloy tonight for cold weather applications, and if she thinks I lost you, she'll be too mad to show me anything. Oh, man," he slowed to a stop, his gold eyes shining. "Think about it, Nina, lightweight metal that won't harm its owner in sub zero temperatures! And Mom thinks I'm ready to work with it!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Nina said, shaking off Van and walking ahead of him. "Just please, don't go any further into detail, or else I'll start reciting the periodic table."

Van grinned and ruffled his sister's pale blond bob.

"What's the matter, can't take hearing about anything that'll get your hands dirty?"

"Come on, Van, stop!" She knocked his hand away, dropped and swept his legs out from under him. He fell, caught himself with his hands and jumped back up. Nina sprinted down the path, laughing.

"Hey! That's no way to treat your elders!" He ran after her, shaking his fist.

Far down the path, a young man watched as the siblings tussled on their way home. He smiled, pulled the hood of his jacket over his dark hair, and tracked the pair, careful not to catch their attention.

"A pair of Elrics," he murmured. "Lucky me."

* * *

Tricia and Wen

The twins, Tricia and Wen, were erect, throwing knives ready in their hands, poised for their signal. Their dark braids gleamed in the dying sun, their pale blue eyes determined, watching their mother's stern face. Mai, six feet in front of them, lifted her hand, then dropped it. The girls leapt to action, tossing half of the knives in the ground in front of their mother, forming two circles. They threw the rest of the knives at their feet in two more circles, each taking a toe to quickly draw a pentagram between the circumference of the knives, then dropped into a crouch and slammed a hand into the middle of her own circle. There was a blue glow from both the girls' circles and the circles in front of Mai. The earth within the circles close to Mai shifted, grew and shaped itself into two stuffed bears. The light died out.

Mai kneeled between the circles, examining each bear, one blue, one green, with a critical eye.

"Wen, you have two ears, two eyes and no nose," she called, holding up the green bear. "Also, one of the legs is far to short. Tricia, The proportions on yours are correct, but the fur is still more mud than fiber."

She placed a hand on both circles and activated them, returning the bears to the earth. She plucked the knives from the ground and threw them in front of her daughters.

"Try again."

The girls nodded and picked up their knives as their cousins ran up the path to their house, laughing. Nina leapt up on Van's back, pulling on his collar.

Mai held up a hand.

"Wait, girls."

The twins fell back into the grass.

"Thank goodness for Nina," Tricia whispered. "Without her, we'd never get a break!" Wen giggled and threw a handful of grass at her sister.

"Nina!" Mai called, placing a hand on her hip. "You're late!"

Nina slipped from her brother's back and slumped her shoulders. Van scribbled her hair.

"You're on your own," he muttered with a tight grin, then ran up the rest of the way to their house.

Nina slunk over to her aunt, smiling sheepishly. "I was watching the sheep, and forgot the time."

Mai rolled her eyes, pulled out a set of knives from the bag at her waist and thrust them into Nina's hands.

"The bear exercise," she said. "Now."

Nina threw half the knives in a haphazard circle near the twins, stumbled through drawing her half's pentagram, and activated the circle. A lump of a bear appeared from the earth. The twins grimaced at the lopsided, sandy creation. Mai was silent for a moment. She shook her head in mock despair.

"Girls, you're free for the afternoon," she said, waving her daughters away. She arched an eyebrow at her cowering niece. "Your cousin needs a little more attention."

The twins ran off and left Nina to her fate, tumbling down the hill in a quick game of tag before settling in a patch of clover to look for four-leaved growths.

"I don't know why she's so bad at Alkehestry," Tricia said, glancing at the blue light flickering by their home. "She's really good at Alchemy."

"Daddy said we may be just as bad at Alchemy when we start our lessons," Wen said with a shrug as she braided the clover. "Remember? 'Cause it's hard to unlearn one way enough to learn the other way."

"How hard it is to feel the chi? Really, it's right there all around you," Tricia grumbled.

"Don't be mean," Wen said, throwing a clover crown on her sister's head. "Or else you'll for sure be bad at Alchemy. It's the rules: mean people get punished!"

"If that was true, Sarah Marie at school wouldn't get away with half the stuff she does," Tricia said with a frown, flopping into the clover. Wen bunched up a handful of clover and sprinkled it over Tricia's face.

"If you weren't so mean to Sarah Marie, maybe she wouldn't be so mean to you," Wen said cheerfully. "See? Mean people get punished!"

She laughed as Tricia tossed clover at her. Suddenly, the girls grew quiet as a chill ran through both. They gazed at the path leading to the two houses, that of their parents and their aunt and uncle.

"Did you feel that?" Tricia whispered.

"Yeah," Wen said, standing.

"Girls!" Mai cried. The twins glanced at each other and ran up the hill.

"If Mommy felt it too, then it's something bad," Wen said, worried. When they reached their house, Mai stood with their father.

"I haven't felt that sort of strangeness since Father," she said in a hushed tone. She glanced at the girls. "In the house, both of you."

"Where's Nina?" Tricia huffed.

"I sent her home. Alphonse, can't you feel it?"

"I've never been able to feel it like you do," Al said, laying a hand on each girl's head. "I just feel a bit uneasy. Listen to your mother, you too. I'll be right back."

Mai bustled her girls inside and closed the door.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Wen asked, holding her mother's hand.

"Nothing," Mai said briskly, flashing both girls a smile. "Come on, now, why don't we make dinner?"


	2. Chapter 2

Nina

"Dad!" Nina shoved a newspaper on top of Edward's pile of research material. "Look! There's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight! Can you take me and Van outside to see it? Huh?"

Edward blinked, sighed and pushed the newspaper out of the way.

"No, Nina." He gave his daughter a half-smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I told you, neither of you are leaving the house until Uncle Al and Aunt Mai say it's safe."

Nina groaned and flopped into Ed's lap.

"But it's been _days_. I'm bored!"

"Have you finished your homework for today?"

"Yes," she said, flicking through a few pages of Ed's research. Ed placed a hand on top of his pile to stop her.

"What about your Alkehestry?"

"Aw, no, anything but that!"

Ed set her on her feet and rose from the chair.

"And now you know what you'll be doing this afternoon," he said with a grin, grabbing a few books from his bookshelf and handing them to Nina. "Give me a report on the differences and similarities between Alchemy and Alkehestry. Maybe knowing the way the two intersect will make it click." He picked up a piece of chalk and held it out to her. "Here's your challenge: can you make a transmutation circle that blends the two practices together?"

Nina frowned and snatched the chalk from her father's hand.

"Van doesn't have to study things he doesn't like," she muttered.

"Van's never had a proficiency for Alchemy," Ed said with a shrug. "He studied it until we figured that out. You, however, are just being lazy." He tapped Nina's forehead. "You can crack Alkehestry if you stop telling yourself how much you hate it. Go on."

She sighed and slumped off to her room. Edward's grin fell. He glanced at the newspaper's headline: _Memorial To Be Held for Mrs. Bradley. _He shoved his hands in his pockets and meandered out of his office, through the house and out the door. The sun was at its peak, and the warm air ruffled his hair as he walked the path to his brother's house.

"Ed!" Al ran up the hill to meet him. "I was just going to stop by."

"Did you find him yet?" Ed said mildly, stopping in front of Al.

"Mai and I have searched every farm," Al said with a shrug. "We even went into town. There's no sign of him."

Ed clenched his teeth.

"It's gotta be him, Al," he said. "It's gotta be Pride."

"I know, brother," Al said, nodding. "We'll find him."

"That bastard. Sneaking around, making us hide in our own homes. Why don't you show yourself, you bastard?" Ed's call echoed over the grassy hills. Al glanced around and shrugged.

"Well, that didn't work."

Ed relaxed and ran a hand over his face.

"Sorry. The kids - well, Nina - is going stir crazy. I don't know how much longer I can keep her inside without a better explanation than 'it's not safe.'"

"Yeah. The twins are the same." Al looked at his hands and flexed his fingers. "It's not fair that they're trapped because our past has come looking for us. You think the kids are ready to learn the truth? I mean, Van is already thirteen. We both experienced a lot before that age."

"I know." Ed looked at his feet and knocked his steel toe against the packed earth. "That's why I'm not so sure they're ready. Can't they stay kids a little longer than we were allowed to? Isn't it enough for us to teach them to spar and teach them what we know without them having to know our past?"

"I don't know -"

"Edward!" A livid Winry stood at the door of her house, her face and clothes covered in grease and oil. Ed glanced at Al. The brothers worked their way up the hill to the front door.

"YOU'RE daughter," she said, shoving a finger into Ed's chest. "Almost destroyed MY workshop! And I'm working on a very intricate piece! Oh, hey, Al."

"Hey, Winry."

She dragged Ed into the house and set him in front of a guilty Nina holding a bit of chalk. Behind her, a chalked line of interconnected transmutation circles stretched from her bedroom, down the hall, through the living room and into Winry's workshop. Van peeked out from the door of the workshop, but ducked back inside at Winry's quick glare.

Ed walked past Nina and examined the linked transmutation circles with glee.

"You blended them together!" He said excitedly, kneeling next to the chain.

"Well, I...I was trying to figure out the dragon pulse thing," Nina said, looking up hopefully. "I mean, remote transmutation. So I thought, would it be like if the energy of a transmutation circle wasn't bound to just one circle?"

"It's the water phases," Ed said, pointing at a section of the links. "Oxygen and Hydrogen to vapor, vapor to water, water to ice, ice to water, water to vapor - oh no." He looked up at Nina. "You ended on vapor to Hydrogen and Oxygen, didn't you?"

Nina nodded slowly.

"In my workshop!" Winry said, crossing her arms.

"I didn't activate it yet!" Nina said quickly. "Mom caught me and asked me what I was doing."

"It's a good thing she did. All it would have taken was a spark," Ed concluded, slapping his forehead. "Nina, you could have caused a major explosion!"

"I can draw it again," Nina said. "I'll use something else, maybe something -"

Ed shook his head and held out his hand. She hesitated, then dropped the chalk into his palm.

"Go study, Nina." He pointed to her room. "Without examples for now. I want a written report, with _words, _on the principles of how the interconnected transmutation circles works. Maybe that will keep you from jumping right into a new idea without understanding the whys behind it."

"How long do I have to work on it?" Nina cried.

"Until it's done. _GO_."

Nina stomped to her room and closed the door. As soon as she was out of sight, Ed dropped and traced the links between the circles.

"This is so - I mean, look a this, Al!"

"I know." All leaned over his brother. "It makes sense. If transmutation circles can be reversed, why can't they be linked?"

"I wonder if the energy grows with each transmutation," Ed said, placing a hand to his lips. "That may explain why it hasn't really been done. That amount of energy would be difficult to control -"

"You two, really." Winry threw her hands up in the air and stormed off to her workshop. "She almost blows up the house with all of us in it, and all you can see is the Alchemy. I'm going back to work. And it's your turn to cook dinner!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ed said with a wave of his hand. Ed looked up at Al.

"You and Mai better find Selim Bradley quick," he muttered. "Or else one of us may not get out of this house alive."

* * *

Nina tossed her book on the ground and fell into her bed. It had been hours since dinner, when her father came up with a bowl of stew and an admonishment for not finishing her report, and she still wasn't sure where to start.

"Why do I have to explain how it works?" She grumbled. "It just does. Isn't that enough?"

She rolled up on her knees and pressed her forehead against the window overlooking her bed.

"Everyone's so unfair," she said. "I can't do this, I can't do that. And for no good reason."

As she stared out the window, a flicker of light flew across the sky and faded away. She gasped.

"The meteor shower!" she whispered.

She climbed off the bed and padded to her door, cracking it open. The house was dark, and silent save for the deep breathing of her sleeping family. She hesitated for a moment, then snuck through the hallway and into Van's room.

"Van," she whispered, poking his cheek. "Van!"

Van muttered and opened his bleary eyes.

"What?" he said crossly.

"You wanna see the meteor shower?"

"What? Are you crazy? Mom and Dad said we aren't supposed to leave the house."

"It'll just be for an hour tops," Nina said, pulling at her brother's arm. "Come on. No one will ever know!"

"You're already in trouble," Van grumbled, turning away from her. "You can go if you want, but I'm staying here."

"Fine," Nina said, narrowing her eyes. She padded from the room, grabbed her jacket and was out the door.

"Stupid Van," she said as she ran from the house towards the fields. "Always so perfect. Stupid Dad and his stupid report. Stupid Mom always telling me I'm, I'm..."

She hushed at the sight of a number of shooting stars in a row. She sat in the damp grass and stared up at the sky. The grass rustled behind her, and she smiled.

"So you decided to come with me?" she said smugly. "I thought you were the perfect one."

"I always thought so," a cool voice said. Nina gasped. Before she could move, the stranger stuffed a handkerchief in her mouth and bound her arms to her waist with a length of rope. Her captor picked her up and threw her over a shoulder. "Hello, Nina Elric," he said. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. I promise, our meeting will be mutually beneficial."


	3. Chapter 3

Nina

The empty, dilapidated barn smelled of moldy hay and bovine sweat.

"I apologize for the accommodations." Nina's captor placed her gently on the packed earth. "Your Aunt and Uncle kept me on the move for the last few days. This was the only place I could gather everything we'd need without being seen."

He struck a match and lit a gas lantern, adjusting the level of the flame. Nina blinked at the sudden light and glared at the dark-haired young man. He smiled and kneeled beside her.

"Don't stare at me like that," he said, removing the handkerchief from her mouth. "I only want to ask you for a favor."

"HELP!" Nina cried as soon as the cloth was free from her lips. "HE-"

The young man slapped a hand over her mouth and leaned in, his eyes reflecting the flickering light.

"Don't," he murmured. "You are not in danger. I simply need your help doing a particularly difficult transmutation. Nothing more. I'd ask your Uncle, but, well," he chuckled. "We aren't on the best of terms. Will you stop screaming if I let go of your mouth?"

Nina nodded. The young man took his hand away.

"HEEEEEEEELP!" Nina screamed before the man clapped a hand over her mouth once more.

"Really, you Elrics have always been tenacious," he said, exasperated. He pulled Nina on her feet. "My name is Selim Bradley, and I need your help, Nina Elric." Nina's eyes grew wide. "Yes, I'm that Selim Bradley. And yes, i know who you are. I really am sorry for stealing you away. I was sure that if I didn't, you'd run and tell your father, and then I'd be in a tight spot." He led her toward the center of the abandoned barn. "You're the only one I know who may have the skill to help me, if your bloodline speaks true. Really, I just need help with one little thing that I'm unsure I can do on my own." He pointed down. Nina gasped and muttered something between his fingers. Slowly Salim removed his hand.

"A human transmutation circle?" she cried. "You want me to do a human transmutation? I'm not an idiot, you creep."

"You misunderstand!" The young man lifted his hands. "I don't want you to try human transmutation. Nothing on a real person. No reanimation of the dead. I just need your help." He rolled up the sleeve of his jacket. His arm was covered in thin, hairline cracks.

"I may not look it, but my body is quite old," he said, running a finger over the cracks. "If I don't switch soon, I'm sure I'll die."

"What are you," Nina whispered, leaning away. Selim smiled sadly.

"Please don't be frightened." He push down his sleeve and untied her arms. "I'm a homunculus. I was created a long time ago by Father."

"Father?"

Selim cocked his head.

"Your father didn't tell you who Father was?" She shook her head. "Who I really am? Besides Mrs. Bradley's surprise son, born so soon after the former Führer's death?" She shook her head again. He gave a short laugh. "Well. Your father gave me the chance to live as a normal person."

"He did?"

"Yes. He saved my life." He motioned at the circle. "And I've become rather fond of normal life. I'm not ready to go just yet. I just need a doll, Nina Elric. A doll, and I'll be on my way."

"A...doll?" Nina stared at the center of the circle where a pile of material formed a small mound. "What do you mean, a doll?"

"A body," he said with a smile. "As close to human as you can get. You've studied anatomy, correct?"

"Yeah, for Alkehestry. I don't know." She peered Selim. "Isn't that pretty close to human transmutation?"

"Not close enough to cause any side effects," the man said with a shrug. "And once you create the doll, I'll bind my soul to the body. That will require a price. But I am willing to pay it."

She sat on the floor and looked up at Selim.

"You could have just gone to Uncle Al," she said crossly. "Or asked my dad for my help."

"No," the man said shortly, waving the thought away. "Your Father and Uncle are against anything that may resemble human transmutation. Really, they're against anything in Alchemy that smacks of the dangerous. Haven't you noticed?"

Nina dropped her eyes.

"You have! You see?" Selim kneeled next to her. "I bet they keep you from trying out anything interesting. That's sad for someone as clever at Alchemy as I've heard you are. Wouldn't it be fun to see if you can make something as intricate as a human body? Think of the stories you heard about your own father's skill when he was young. Wouldn't you to see if you are his match?"

Nina bit her lip and looked up at Selim.

"If Dad helped you, then I should too," she said slowly. "And...I bet I can do it. It'll just take some concentration..."

"Good!" He ruffled her hair, then walked to the center of the circle. He pulled out a pen knife and slit the tip of his index finger, letting a few drops of blood pool in the pile of ingredients. "There is your template," he said, wrapping the finger with his handkerchief and leaving the circle. "Whenever you're ready."

Nina glanced at Selim, took a deep breath then placed her hands on the circumference of the circle. She closed her eyes. A burst of light shot up from the circle as the air filled with blue sparks.

* * *

Mai gasped and sat up in bed.

"Alphonse!" She shook Al hard, knocking him out of sleep.

"Wh - Wha?"

"Something's wrong!" Mai jumped from her bed and shoved her feet into a pair of old shoes. "Come on!"

* * *

"Osseous tissue is the building block of bones," Nina muttered. "Calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. Spongy and compact."

A skeletal system grew from the pile of ingredients.

"Next, the nervous system. Neurons and axons, epineurium, perineurium, endoneurium..."

* * *

"Ed! Come on brother, open up!" Al pounded on his brother's front door. Ed opened the door, bleary-eyed. Winry stood behind him, yawning.

"What's up?" Ed said, rubbing his eyes.

"Someone's performing a human transmutation somewhere in the vicinity!"

"What?"

"It's true, I feel it," Mai chimed in, pushing past Al and dragging Ed from the house. "If it's Selim..."

"Yeah, of course, I'll help. Winry, stay with the kids, right?"

Winry nodded firmly.

"Dad?" Van peeked out of his room. "Is it bad?"

"Not now, Van." Ed shoved his feet in his shoes and threw on a jacket. "Go back to sleep."

"So it is bad?" Van pushed away from the door frame. His face crunched with worry. "Really bad?"

"It'll be okay, trust me."

"But Nina -!" Van stopped. The adults stared down at him. Ed narrowed his eyes.

"What about Nina?"

* * *

Thin, lean muscles wrapped around the organs, vessels and bones in the middle of the transmutation circle. Sweat poured from Nina's brow. She squinted her closed eyes.

"Skin next," she whispered. "Hypodermis, dermis, basement membrane, epidermis..."

* * *

"Nina!" Winry cried, her voice carrying on the wind. She swung the lantern around, checking the horizon. "Nina!"

"Winry, please go home," Ed said, placing a hand around her shoulder as they followed Al and Mai toward the source of Mai's disturbance. "This could be bad."

"You think I'm going to stay home while some monster may have my daughter?" Winry pushed Ed's arm off her shoulder and walked a little faster. "What kind of mother do you think I am?"

Ed caught up with her and pulled her close. She leaned against him as they walked.

* * *

A tuft of blond hair sprouted from the head of the doll. Nina opened her eyes and smiled up at her creation.

"It's finished!" She said, pulling her hands from the circle and clapping. "Wow, I did it! I really did it!"

The circle remained activated. Blue light filled the room. Nina frowned.

"That's not right," she said, looking up at Selim. "The work is done!"

"Is it?"

Tiny, shadowy hands shot up from the circle. Nina screamed and stumbled back. The black tendrils covered her, pulling her into the circle.

"But you said!" She threw out her hands, grasping at the dirt. "You said it wasn't -!"

"I lied," Selim said mildly. He smiled, hands in his pockets as he watched Nina dematerialized into the circle. Her screams filled the barn. "But really, how stupid do you have to be to believe that kind of lie?"

Nina's screams cut off short and the room went dark. The doll fell to the floor with a thump. Selim chuckled and walked over to the doll, pushing it on its back with a foot.

"She did good work," he murmured. "Lucky me."

He kneeled over the doll and plunged a hand into its torso. Red veins bulged on his arm as he siphoned off the last of his philosopher's stone into the body. As his lifeblood entered the doll, his old body crumbled to dust . A moment of silence passed. The doll opened its eyes and blinked.

"A different sort of container," Pride said, pushing himself up and rolling his shoulders. He rocked up to his feet.

"Nina!" He paused at the call from outside. "Nina! Nina!"

"Better hurry," he said, walking to a corner of the barn and picking up a bag. "I can dress when I'm safe." He grinned as he slipped through the door of the barn. "I'm sure she'll be quite the distraction."


End file.
